NP Cougars advance in north state round

By Ike House
One phrase fit North Panola’s efforts on Tuesday night and that is a tale of two halves. The Cougars played like two different teams in the first and second half of their first round playoff game against number one seed Nettleton. The Cougars went and stole a win on the road by a final of 72-56.
In the first quarter the Tigers were running the floor and scoring baskets but the Cougars stayed close and did not let the lead get out of hand. The Cougars went into the second quarter down only 16-13.
In the second quarter the Cougars could have gained the lead and took over from there but missed layups did the trick and did not make things better. The Cougars did not give the Tigers the opportunity to pull away as they went into the half down by 36-34.
In the second half the Cougars began hitting all of their big shots taking the lead and letting their defense put the Tigers away earlier than expected. The Cougars dominated on both sides of the ball as they went into the fourth quarter with a 12 point lead.
The final quarter was no stopping point as the Cougars did not pull up as they have done in previous games. They pushed the lead as far as it could go even scoring in the final 10 seconds of the game to make a statement to the rest of 3A.
The Cougars pulled out a big win of 72-56. Leading the Cougars was Jamarcus Jones with 25 points.
Other scorers were Darrell Young with 13 points; Vennis Mills with 11; Mario Fenner with nine; Kenneth Jefferson and Jordan Dandridge both with four points each and Jarvis Renix and Sylvonta Oliver both with two points each.
The Cougars will be on the road Saturday to Cleveland Eastside at 7 p.m.